14 Reasons A Break From Dating Will Make You More Likely To Meet "The One"

Is it time to take a break from dating?

A woman with long brown hair and a checkered top holds hands with a man across a table in a brightly lit cafe. She gazes at him intently, with an orange car visible through the window in the background.

Dating. It can be fun, but it can also be exhausting. It can even leave you feeling bitter and cynical about the whole love thing. You’ve been searching for it for so long, so is it even out there?

Of course it is.

But when you get dating fatigue or dating burnout, it’s time to take a break.

Don’t confuse taking a break with giving up.

You don’t have to constantly and continuously search for The One to find them. In fact, this can be counterproductive. You’re not quitting on love by taking a break from dating, and you’re not destined to be alone forever. You’re just switching your focus.

Keep reading to learn why you should take a break.

1. You learn more about yourself.

A woman with long hair smiles while standing on a suspension bridge. She is wearing a red shirt and a plaid jacket. The background features a mountainous landscape with greenery and a cloudy sky.

When you stop focusing on finding a partner, you can put your energy toward rediscovering yourself. You can learn more about who you are when you’re not in a relationship or influenced by a romantic interest.

What are your dreams separate from the life you would have with a potential partner? How can you cheer yourself up and take care of yourself on your own? You learn all these things and more.

2. You learn from your mistakes.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a beige sweater smiles while resting her chin on her hand, looking at a man sitting across from her. They are seated indoors with a window in the background.

When you’re continuously dating, it can become a routine. You could be constantly repeating the same mistakes without even realizing it. Taking a step back from dating for a while gives you a fresh perspective on the entire experience.

Maybe you always open up too soon, or you constantly talk about your ex. Perhaps you fall for the wrong people or are attracted to those who are emotionally unavailable. In the end, maybe you’ve just been searching in the wrong place. You could realize this during your time off.

3. You stop looking.

A woman with long hair sits at a table, smiling as she enjoys a dessert on a plate. A glass of beverage is nearby, along with a small vase holding white flowers. Sunlight streams in, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

We’ve all lost items only to find them the moment we stop looking. This can happen with love too.

In addition, when you stop looking for a perfect match, you start noticing a lot of other things in your life that you could put your energy into instead.

Most importantly, you notice that life can be fun and fulfilling even when you’re not dating anyone or looking to date.

4. You learn what you’re looking for.

A man in a denim shirt and white t-shirt holds a take-out coffee cup in one hand and a smartphone in the other while leaning against a beige building on a sunny day. The background includes parts of other buildings and a paved sidewalk.

After a while of dating with no success, it gets very tempting to simply settle. You lower your criteria bit by bit until you find yourself considering a relationship with someone who is a walking red flag.

Don’t let this happen to you. It is better to be single than in the wrong relationship.

While you’re not dating, you can learn what you’re really looking for in a partner and a relationship. You can set higher standards and define your ideal match and your ideal relationship.

5. You discover new possibilities.

A man and a woman are playing pool in a dimly lit room. The man, wearing a purple shirt, is assisting the woman, wearing a pink top, with her shot. The woman is poised to strike the cue ball with her cue stick. Other people are blurred in the background.

New possibilities open up once you’re out of the dating pool. Don’t forget that you don’t have to be constantly swimming in the pool for someone to push you in out of nowhere.

You could take a break from dating apps and start noticing that people flirt with you in random places and when you least expect it.

You could start going to new places and meeting new people, and one of them might turn out to be your match in the end.

6. Physical intimacy doesn’t cloud your judgment.

A woman sits on the edge of a bed, looking distressed and holding her head with her hand. In the background, a man sits on the bed, facing away from her. The room has a large, black accent wall, a white lamp, and a potted plant by the window.

Being physically intimate with someone is confusing. It can cloud your judgment and cause complicated situations that didn’t have to happen in the first place. When your mind is not occupied with racy thoughts and the emotions they cause, it can give you a lot of energy to invest in other areas of your life or yourself.

Yes, being physically intimate is also fun, but when you’re not in a serious relationship it’s more confusing and distracting than fun. Take a break from all the tension and use that time and energy to create the life you want. There’ll be plenty of time for it once you’re in a committed relationship.

7. You have more time to work on what you want.

A smiling woman with a green headband and a wristwatch holds a retro camera outdoors. She wears a yellow top and bracelets, and palm trees are blurred in the background.

All that time and energy that’s left after taking a break from dating can be put to good use. You can work on your goals, improve yourself, and focus on what you really want in life.

What is it that you want other than a partner? Write all those things down and start crossing them off your list one by one. When you put all that focus that you’ve been using for dating into achieving your dreams, you’ll get all that you want.

8. You learn more about other types of love.

Two women sit together in a cozy cafe, smiling and holding white coffee cups. One woman leans affectionately towards the other. There are smartphones on the wooden table in front of them, and a rustic wall is in the background.

Romantic love is not the only love there is. If you know what to focus on, you might even notice that love is all around you. Love is not gone from your life just because you’re not in a romantic relationship.

You probably love your friends and family members, and you love to see the sunset or to help a stranger on the street. You love the smell of books and the taste of champagne. You love your pet, your plants, your candles, and your collection of vintage records. It could be anything, but there’s surely love in your life already.

Embracing the love that’s already in your life means that when “The One” comes along, you won’t lose yourself in the relationship and sabotage it before it has the chance to reach it’s potential.

9. You see everything more clearly.

A man wearing glasses and an apron is smiling while looking at a laptop. He is holding a pen and writing in a notebook in front of him. There is a coffee machine in the background.

When you’re constantly dating, you could be too into it to see the big picture. Once you take a break, you start to see things more clearly. You get a better understanding of your mistakes and yourself. This helps you improve your future dating experience. Your goals and wants become much clearer which will help you eventually find what you’re looking for.

10. You learn more about love.

A woman with curly hair in a white blouse is smiling and engaging in conversation with a man wearing a plaid cap and a brown jacket. They are standing indoors near a window.

Have you been jumping from one relationship to another? If so, this might have prevented you from seeing yourself separately from a potential partner. Because of this, you might not even know what true love is.

Give yourself and your partner enough time to grow on your own and experience those butterflies once you finally meet. When you give it time, you learn more about love and how magical it can be.

11. You learn the difference between being alone and lonely.

A man in a light blue shirt is sitting at a wooden table, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He is smiling and sitting in a bright room with a bookshelf in the background.

You don’t have to be lonely just because you are alone. When you take a break from dating, you can start to enjoy your alone time more. You’ll be more aware of yourself and your needs and wants. Use them to make yourself happy and show yourself love.

After all, you can’t meet someone else’s needs if your own needs aren’t met first.

12. You do more with your life.

A woman in a white shirt sits at a table in a cafe with her chin resting on her hands. She looks thoughtfully to the side, with a laptop and a cup on the table in front of her. The background is softly blurred.

People often get sucked into their romantic relationships. A lot of their resources go into maintaining that relationship, and since they prioritize it, other aspects of their lives suffer.

When you’re single by choice, you can do more with your life than if you were in a relationship since all of those resources (time, energy, money, effort, attention…) are at your disposal.

For instance, imagine if you put the effort that you put into finding a partner into getting a promotion at work or making a career change. You’d probably have enough resources to get what you want! And if you’re happier in your life, you’re more likely to be happy in a relationship when it comes your way.

13. Love finds you when you’re not searching for it.

A young man in a burgundy t-shirt and jeans is leaning against a bookshelf, talking to a smiling young woman in an orange t-shirt who is holding books. They appear to be in a brightly lit library with shelves of books on both sides.

It’s funny how we find things once we stop looking for them. This is often how love works for some reason. You’ve got to stop wanting a partner so bad, and once you’re entirely devoted to other things in your life, someone will pop up out of nowhere and give you butterflies.

It just somehow works that way. You can’t purposely go out there and search for love and find it like it’s a hidden treasure and you have a map. It finds you, often when you least expect it.

14. You learn to love yourself.

A woman with light skin and blue eyes, smiling, with her hair pulled back. She is wearing a silver necklace and a light top. The background is blurred but appears to be outdoors with light and dark areas.

They often say that you need to love yourself first in order to have love in your life. When you’re entirely devoted to a partner and prioritize them, you put yourself aside more often than you would if you were alone.

Once you take a break from dating, you’ll have more time to show yourself love in whichever way works for you. Maybe you’ll go on a spa day, hit the gym, go shopping, or visit a local gallery. Maybe you’ll stay in bed all day and watch sad movies with your dog. But you’ll prioritize yourself, give yourself what you want, and show yourself the love you deserve.